Supporter for Exercising Golf Swing

ABSTRACT

A supporter for exercise of golf swing minimizes a gap between a state in which the supporter is mounted and a state in which the supporter is not mounted, and is highly effective for exercising golf swing. The supporter  1  comprises a block-like space retaining body  10  which is closely attached on both wrists or both front arms within a triangle formed by both shoulders and a grip during golf swing and also having hardness and elasticity or a buffering function enough to prevent deformation against a pressing force by the both wrists and the both front arms during addressing and swinging, and a band  20  provided on the retaining body  10  and enabling amounting of the retaining body  10  on either one of the both wrists or the both front arms.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to supporters for exercising golf swing, and more specifically to supporters for exercising golf swing enabling a user to swing a golf club with an ideal form repetitively.

BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY

There have been known various types of supporters for golf swing and tools for correcting swinging forms. For instance, JP S54-6178 A (Patent document 1) proposes a correcting tool which forcefully approximates a body and an arm (for instance, a right arm) to each other with a belt or the like so that the user can swing a club preserving the posture. With the correcting tool for swinging form, it is possible to forcefully keep one side in a closed state, but the other arm is completely free from the correcting tool, and therefore it is difficult to maintain the so-called triangle formed with the user's shoulders and both arms.

JP H04-70066 U (Patent document 2) proposes a tool for correcting movement of both arms. In the invention, both arms of a user are always kept at positions close to the user's body, and therefore the user can exercise golf swing in the state where the user's both arms are kept in the forcefully closed state. When the both arms are kept at forcefully closed state as described above, the user's right arm (when a right arm is a dominant arm of the user) is advantageously kept in the forcefully closed state and also a space between the both arms are kept constant. However, at the same time, also the left arm is kept in the forcefully closed state, and therefore the left arm can not naturally move, which causes an awkward and unnatural swing.

JP H08-336628 A (Patent document 3) discloses a golf exercise tool for golf swing enabling exercise of golf swing always keeping a user's right side in the tightened state, and the tool comprises a pad section having a predefined thickness to which an arm is mounted and side pad sections extending from both sides of the pad section each having a attachment band which is disconnectably attached to an upper portion of an arm or a shoulder of a user. When this golf exercise tool is set on a right arm to exercise golf swing, it seems that the user can learn a swing form keeping the right side in the forced state by mounting the user's right arm on the pad, but both front arms of the user are not restricted at all, and therefore the tool is not suited to exercise of maintaining a triangle formed with the user' shoulders and both arms.

Patent document 3 discloses a tool for exercising golf swing based on a combination of supporters for right and left wrists each comprising a ring of an elastic band restricting a wrist. The supporters for both wrists are effective in preventing an open posture of each wrist, but can not suppress a return of wrists when impacting a golf ball, and therefore the supporters are not useful in exercise of square impact in golf swing.

JP 3051619 U (Patent document 4) discloses an arm ring which is set on each arm and is connected to another one set on another arm like handcuffs. In this arm ring, a belt-formed telescopic section capable of expanding and contracting is provided thereon, and an adhesive section which can easily be adhered to or peeled off is provided at a substantially central portion of the telescopic section. When gripping a club, the inner adhesive sections of arm rings set of both arms can be adhered and connected to each other, and movements such as slight expansion or slight contraction such as waggling or impacting are mitigated by the telescopic section, and when a balance is lost during motion or an unnatural motion is performed, the telescopic section extends to the limit and the adhesive sections of the two arm rings are separated from each other for preventing injuries. With the arm rings as described above, however, like in the tool for exercise of golf swing as described above, it is impossible to suppress turning of wrists in the impact zone.

Patent document 1: JP S54-6178 A

Patent document 2: JP H04-70066 U

Patent document 3: JP H08-336628 A

Patent document 4: JP 3051619 U

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

All of the supporters for exercise of golf swing are used for correcting a user's swinging motion to preferable golf swing by fixing both arms or both wrists with a belt or the like to prevent both elbows from moving away from each other, and when the user swings a club after the supporters for exercise of golf swing are removed, the user's swinging posture easily returns to that before correction, which means that the supporters are not effective in correcting a swinging posture in golf.

In association with progress in golf clubs, also golf swing regarded as ideal has been changing. A driver which was used in the past comprises a persimmon head and a heavy steel shaft, and in those days it was regarded important that a player grips a club in the mode of square gripping and turns arms to raise the head speed. In contrast, recently a main type of golf clubs, especially a driver has a large volume head made from titanium and a light weight shaft made from carbon, and the club has a high inertial moment. When using a recent club, if the hands are turned excessively like in the old fashion of golf swing, the inertial moment is high, so that a hit ball sometimes flies in a wrong direction. To overcome this problem, recently a club is held rather strongly for swinging, and rotation of hands is held as much as possible in the impact zone, and rotation of a body is controlled in swinging so that the club face can accommodate square impact.

An object of the present invention is to provide a supporter for exercise of golf swing minimizing a gap between a state in which the supporter is mounted and a state in which the supporter is not mounted and highly effective for exercising golf swing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a supporter for exercise of golf swing which facilitates repetitive exercise of on-plane swing (means golf swing keeping a club head on a correct swing plane) which is currently regarded as the most ideal golf swing.

The supporter for exercise of golf swing according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a block-like space retaining body which is closely attached on both wrists or both front arms within a triangle formed by both shoulders and a grip during golf swing and also having hardness and elasticity or a buffering function enough to prevent deformation against a pressing force by the both wrists and the both front arms during addressing and swinging; and a band provided on the retaining body and enabling amounting of the retaining body on either one of the both wrists or the both front arms.

The supporter for exercise of golf swing according to another embodiment of the present invention comprises a block-like space retaining body which is closely attached on both wrists or both front arms within a triangle formed by both shoulders and a grip during golf swing and also having hardness and elasticity or a buffering function enough to prevent deformation against a pressing force by the both wrists and the front arms during addressing and swinging; and a rope provided on the retaining body for hanging down the retaining body from a user's neck.

Preferably the space retaining body has a recessed portion formed along curved surfaces of the both wrists or the both front arms in a contact section where the space retaining body contacts the both wrists or the both front arms.

The space retaining body is preferably made from any one of foamed styrol, foamed urethane, synthetic resin, synthetic rubber, or a combination thereof.

With the supporter for exercise of golf swing according to the present invention, when a user exercises swing using this supporter, the user is required to intentionally try not to widen a space between the user's both arm, and a difference in feelings between exercising and actually playing on a golf course is small, so that the user can learn an ideal swinging form without fail.

Furthermore the supporter for exercise of golf swing according to the present invention provides the effect of suppressing rotation of hands in the impact zone. In other words, if a player rotates his or her hands turning the palms upward, a space between the both wrists or between the both front arms becomes narrower, but with the supporter for exercise of golf swing according to the present invention, because of the space retaining body, a space during addressing is maintained during swinging, and a motion causing rotation of hands is inevitably suppressed.

The supporter for exercise of golf swing according to the present invention is light in weight and also compact, and is furthermore excellent in the portability. Therefore the supporter can be used for exercise of golf swing at any place and at any time conveniently and frequently.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view illustrating a supporter for exercise of golf swing according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 (1) is a front view illustrating a posture of a user of the supporter in the addressing state, while FIG. 2(2) is a side view illustrating a posture of the user in the back-swinging state from a rear side in a direction in which a golf ball flies; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a supporter for exercise of golf swing according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTIONS OF SIGNS

-   1, 2: Supporter for exercise of golf swing -   10: Space retaining body -   12L, 12R: Recessed portion -   20: Band -   22: Rope

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A supporter for exercise of golf swing according to the present invention is described below with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view illustrating a supporter 1 for exercise of golf swing (sometimes simply referred to as “supporter 1” hereinafter), and the supporter 1 has a space retaining body 10 which is closely attached on both wrists or both front arms within a triangle formed by both shoulders and a grip during golf swing, and a band provided on the space retaining body 10 and enabling amounting of the retaining body 10 on either one of the both wrists or the both front arms.

There is no specific restriction over size and a form of the space retaining body 10 so long as the space retaining body 10 is accommodated within a triangle formed with both shoulders and a grip when swinging a golf club and also which can be closely mounted between the both wrists or both front arms. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a flat plate block is used, and the flat plate block has the dimensions of 10 cm (height)×15 cm (width)×5 cm (thickness). Recessed portions 12L, 12R each having a semi-circular form are formed at right and left edge sections of the space retaining body 10, and the both wrists or the both front arms are set in the recessed portions 12L, 12R. The space retaining body 10 is held between user's both wrists or the both front arms, so that a space between the both wrists or both front arms is prevented from becoming narrower during swinging. Furthermore, a turn of wrists in the impact zone can be suppressed during exercise of golf swing.

Therefore, the space retaining body 10 is required to have hardness and elasticity or a buffering function enough to prevent deformation against a pressing force by the both wrists and the front arms during addressing and swinging. There is no specific restriction over a weight of the space retaining body 10 unless the weight causes any trouble in exercise of golf swing, but the weight should preferably be as light as possible.

For optimizing the conditions including the size and the form, the space retaining body 10 is preferably made from any one of foamed styrol, foamed urethane, synthetic resin, synthetic rubber, or a combination thereof.

In the supporter 1 according to the present invention, there is no specific difference between a case where the space retaining body 10 is closely mounted on a user's both wrists and a case where the space retaining body 10 is closely mounted on the both front arms.

Furthermore, there is no specific difference between a case where the space retaining body 10 is mounted on a user's right wrist or on the user's right front arm and a case where the space retaining body 10 is mounted on a user's left wrist or on the user's left front arm. Therefore a place where the space retaining body 10 may be selected according to a user's choice, but it may be said based on experiences and feelings of the present inventors that the space retaining body 10 should preferably be set on a left arm for exercise of approaching (when the user is right-handed).

Mounting the space retaining body 10 on both wrists or on both front arms with a means such as a band 20 or the like is not preferable, because such means restricts the both wrists or the both front arms, and therefore this mode of mounting the space retaining body 10 is excluded from a scope of the present invention.

The band 20 is an elastic one which can extend or contract freely, and is directly fixed on the space retaining body 10 to cover either one of the recessed portions 12L and 12R. Also the configuration is preferable in which a loop fastener tape is attached to a rear surface of an end portion of the band 20 and the loop fastener tape is engaged with another loop fastener tape 14 on the space retaining body 10 forming a pair with the fastener above so that the supporter 1 can easily be mounted to or dismounted from the user's wrist or the front arm.

A right or left wrist or a right or left front arm is engaged in either one of the recessed portions 12L, 12R, and when the wrist or the front arm is tightened with the band 20, the supporter 1 is tightly amounted on the wrist or on the front arm.

The recessed portions 12L, 12R each having a semi-circular form have a surface curbed enough for the wrist or the front arm to be fit therein, and a depth of each of the recessed portions 12L, 12R is decided taking into considerations the hardness and the elasticity or the buffering property which the space retaining body 10 has.

Next, how to use the supporter 1 according to the present invention is described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2(1) is a front view illustrating the state in which a user (exerciser) wearing the supporter 1 is in the addressing state, while FIG. 2(2) is a side view illustrating the user in the back-swinging state viewed from the rear side in the direction in which a ball flies.

The exerciser at first mounts the supporter 1 on the exerciser's right or left wrist or front arm with the band 20. Whether the space retaining body 10 is mounted on the both wrists or on the both front arms at a position closer to a grip or at a position closer to an elbow is decided depending on the exerciser's choice, and it is important to make up a square grip against the swing plane. To satisfy this requirement, it is better to grip a club so that a line between two elbows is parallel to a shoulder, a loin, and a stance. Because the space retaining body 10 has a form like a flat and planar block, whether the line between the two elbows is parallel to the shoulder or the like can easily be checked.

The exerciser takes back a club preserving an inverted triangle formed in the addressing state as shown in FIG. 2(1) with both arms and shoulders to start back-swinging. In this posture, the exerciser exercises swinging concentrating his or her attention so that the wrist or the front arm not fixed with the band 20 will not be separated from the recessed portion 12L (or 12R). So long as the supporter 1 is mounted on the exerciser, the user (exerciser) can easily feels whether the user's free wrist or the user's free front arm is separated from the tightly mounted recessed portion 12L (or 12R) or not.

In succession to the taking back and back-swinging described above, the exerciser can check whether the exerciser's wrist or front arm is tightly mounted on the recessed portion or not during the swinging motions including top swinging, down swinging, impacting, following-through, and finishing, but the exerciser is required only to concentrate his or her attention during movement of the golf club from the side of the right shoulder to the side of the left shoulder, especially to the impact zone.

An exerciser should remember the following points for execution of on-plane swinging in each motional stage of golf swing. Namely, when taking back, an exerciser should mount a club head on a swing plane by cocking wrists paying attention to preserve an inverted triangle in the addressing state and a space between a body and a grip. In back-swinging, the exerciser swings a club up to the side of the exerciser's right shoulder twisting his or her trunk which is a center of the body. As a result, at the top swing, the club is set at a position substantially parallel to the ground surface because of the inertial moment of the club. In an ideal top swing, a left arm, a shaft, and a club face are on one plane. In the initial stage of down swinging, the club is dropped naturally by making use of weights of the arms and clubs to set the club on the swinging plane. Then, holding cocking of wrist as tight as possible, the club head is accelerated along the orbit of the impact zone. By releasing the wrist cocking just before impact and releasing the club head (referred to as “release motion”), a maximum centrifugal force is loaded to the club head during the following-through, and then finishing is performed.

The space retaining body 10 has not only the effect of setting one of the left and right wrists or the left and right front arms in the free state, and also the effect of preventing the left and right wrists or the left and right front arms from compressing the space retaining body 10 to move closer to each other. Therefore, the inverted triangle in the addressing state can be preserved, and also excessive roll of both hands can be suppressed in the impact zone.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to a supporter 2 for exercise of golf swing shown in FIG. 3.

The supporter 2 comprises a space retaining body 10 which is tightly mounted on both wrists or both arms within a triangle formed by exerciser's both shoulders and a grip during golf swing, and a rope 22 attached to the space retaining body 10 for hanging down the space retaining body 10 from a neck of the exerciser. The space retaining body 10 is the same as that described in relation to the supporter 1.

The rope 22 is hung down from the neck to prevent the space retaining body 10 from dropping, and also is capable of preserving a distance between the exerciser's neck and a grip at a constant level during a series of swinging motions such as addressing, back swinging, and following-through so that the triangle will not be lost.

Therefore, a length of the rope 22 should be adjusted so that a distance between the exerciser's neck and the grip is an appropriate one. Therefore, the rope 22 is preferably made from a material enabling adjustment of the length, and also enabling telescopic motions.

For exercising golf swing using the supporter 2, at first, the exerciser hands down the space retaining body 10 from his or her neck, performs addressing keeping the rope 22 in the tensed (extended) state, and performs a series of swinging motions described in relation to the way of using the supporter 1 in the state. When the supporter 2 is used, the advantages provided by the supporter 1 can be enjoyed, and in addition, a distance between a neck as a central point of swing and a grip can be kept constant. Therefore, the supporter 2 is effective in exercise for setting a club head on a swinging plane and at the same time a keeping a square club face in taking back. 

1. A supporter for exercise of golf swing comprising: a block-like space retaining body which is closely attached on both wrists or both front arms within a triangle formed by both shoulders and a grip during golf swing and also having hardness and elasticity or a buffering function enough to prevent deformation against a pressing force by the both wrists and the both front arms during addressing and swinging; and a band provided on the retaining body and enabling amounting of the retaining body on either one of the both wrists or the both front arms.
 2. The supporter for exercise of golf swing according to claim 1, wherein a recessed portion is formed along curved surfaces of the both wrists or the both front arms in a contact section where the space retaining body contacts the both wrists or the both front arms.
 3. The supporter for exercise of golf swing according to claim 1, wherein the space retaining body is made from any one of foamed styrol, foamed urethane, synthetic resin, synthetic rubber, or a combination thereof.
 4. A supporter for exercise of golf swing comprising: a block-like space-retaining body which is closely attached on both wrists or both front arms within a triangle formed by both shoulders and a grip during golf swing and also having hardness and elasticity or a buffering function enough to prevent deformation against a pressing force by the both wrists and the both front arms during addressing and swinging; and a rope provided on the retaining body for hanging down the retaining body from a user's neck.
 5. The supporter for exercise of golf swing according to claim 4, wherein a recessed portion is formed along curved surfaces of the both wrists or the both front arms in a contact section where the space retaining body contact the both wrists or the both front arms.
 6. The supporter for exercise of golf swing according to claim 4, wherein the space retaining body is made from any one of foamed styrol, foamed urethane, synthetic resin, synthetic rubber, or a combination thereof. 